Unseen University (NowhereMash)
Located conterminous to the grounds of the University of London, Unseen University is England's premier school of magic. Grounds and Buildings The University is a large walled-off complex on the western side of the Thames, north of Westminster Abbey. Aside from the Tower of Art, the geography of the UU is somewhat fluid, with rooms shifting and disappearing on a regular basis. It is much larger on the inside than on the outside. Forming much of the border is the main building, which contains the garden known as the Main Octangle and the Clock Tower housing Old Tom, the University's tongueless octiron bell whose strokes silence everything briefly. South of the main building lies the Library, housing the largest collection of magical texts in the known world. Further east of this is the High Energy Magic Building. The spot between this building and the Library is the workspace of the University gardener, Modo, a genteel dwarf who was nearly eaten by his own compost pile. Entrance and exit into the complex is by one of the gates. These gates close in the evening, and students who like to get out after this have created an alternate opening known as Scholar's Entry. This is a place in the wall where bricks can be slid out to form a usable ladder, and has always been known only to students. However, many students forget that all the staff were, in their time, students themselves. Tower of Art The Tower of Art is the 800-foot (240 m) tower that forms the University's core. It has a total of 8,888 steps up to the top (in University tradition, the number 8 has great mystical significance). Originally the Tower was the only building on campus, but teaching has long since moved on to other buildings. The Tower itself is usually only used for astronomical and other observations requiring altitude, the traditional May Morning chorus is sung from its top (inaudible to anyone but the chorus, but traditionally applauded by all below). While historical wizards were known to build towers for themselves, the builders are unknown. It is certainly older than both the city and the University around it, and some have speculated that it is older than the Earth itself, although evidence for this is scarce. Around the top of it a magical species of raven has developed that is much more intelligent than usual. The Library Like the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the UU Library features chained books – although at Oxford this is done to protect the books from the students, whereas at UU it is done to protect the students from the books. The high concentration of magical lore has warped the Library interior into a locus of L-Space where the concepts of distance and direction are only vaguely defined (it is generally described as resembling an M. C. Escher pastiche of theBodleian or the British Museum Reading Room). Within L-Space the Library contains every book ever written, possibly written, unwritten and yet to be written. Since the contents of all libraries are in L-Space, it is possible to enter a Library in one city and exit in another. Access to libraries of other times or other realities is restricted to the Librarian himself. People entering the deeper parts of the library usually carry chalk, until the chalk turns into something else. Category:NowhereMash Category:NowhereMash Factions Category:NowhereMash Schools of Magic